Designer Aslanis subject of arrest warrant over debts shortly before death, report claims
An arrest warrant had been issued for Greek fashion designer Michalis Aslanis due to debts to the state a few days before the 63-year-old was found dead in his apartment in Athens, Proto Thema newspaper reports.
The warrant was reportedly issued on August 9. The designer was found dead on August 28.
According to Proto Thema, Aslanis’s lawyers had been able to stave off his arrest but he was under pressure to pay 170,000 euros by the end of the month. The successful designer had run into serious financial problems in recent years.
An initial post mortem found that Aslanis died from a pulmonary edema. According to the coroner’s report this may have been caused by excessive use of pills or drugs, but could also have been the result of purely pathological causes.
Proto Thema reproduced a copy of a note allegedly found in the designer’s Kolonaki apartment which indicates he committed suicide.
“I am leaving,” the note, addressed to his assistant, reads. “I cannot live in a world that is so harsh and heartless.”
Aslanis was buried in Halkida, Evia, on Friday.
